Hot canned food vending machine



Se t. 29, 1970 w. R. ABBOTT ETAL HOT CANNED FOOD VENDING MACHINE 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 8

lm/iuroks: W. (.990 R. 08801? Sept. 29, 1970 w, R, ABBOTT ET AL3,531,017

I 7 HOT CANNED FOOD VENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2w. R. ABBOTT E HOT CANNED FOOD VENDING MACHINE I Sept. 29,1970

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 8, 1968 United States Patent 3,531,017 HOTCANNED FOOD VENDING MACHINE Willard Ray Abbott and Roderick L. Le Bron,Omaha,

Nebr., assignors to Le Bron, Inc., Omaha, Nelm, a corporation ofNebraska Filed Aug. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 751,117 Int. Cl. B65h 3/44 U.S.Cl. 221-93 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A coin operated vendingmachine for dispensing hot canned foods and crackers. The vendingmachine is of metallic construction and is heated by conduction tovertical chutes for varying types of canned foods, such that the cansdispensed at the bottom of the heating chamber are hotter than thereserve cans at the top. Shelves are provided, feeding into the chutesto provide a reservoir of can supply. The coin operating mechanism isprovided with a pusher bar to push on the bottommost can in the chute todispense it to a pull-out trough or delivery chute. An anti-theft deviceis provided against tampering. A sold out mechanism is operated by thecans to block the coin operated mechanism in the sold out condition. Acompanion chute is provided for the dispensing of crackers with thecanned foods which is operated through the dispensing of the cans, suchthat the cans are part of the operating mechanism.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION By means of this invention there has beenprovided a simply operated coin-actuated dispensing unit for hot cannedfoods. The dispenser uses conduction heating of the metal parts in thevending machine to the cans to keep them hot, and the use of a simpleelectrical conduction heating element obviates the requirement ofmotordriven frans and the like. Economy of heat is utilized to heat theheating compartment in which the cans are stored to a higher degree ofheat, namely, about 160 or so, then the elevated reservoir of cans atthe top of the unit which may be maintained at lower temperature untilthey are ready to be dispensed.

The machine uses several stacks or chutes of cans, each contained in aseparate chute depending upon the type of food involved. A standard coinactuated mechanism employing a pusher bar is used to push the bottommostcan from the selected chute into a delivery chute which, afterdispensing, is opened by the user. The cans are stacked over thedispensed can, then are lowered by gravity in one can position, and thenext lowermost can is ready for dispensing.

A companion chute is provided with packages of crackers and upon theengagement of a can to be dispensed, an operating bar swings the chutesuch that the bottornmost package is pushed out into the delivery chute.

An anti-theft device comprising a simple hinged plate underlying theopening for dispensing the selected can is actuated by the deliverychute. When the delivery chute is opened, the anti-theft plate is causedto move into locking position with the passageway for the dispensed canto prevent tampering.

Through the dispensing machine provided, standard operated coinmechanisms can be employed, greatly reducing the expense of the unit.Shelves are provided with each of the chutes in order to provide greaterstorage space for additional cans in order to feed the can into thevertical can storage chute as the cans are dispensed.

The apparatus is relatively simple in fabrication and easy to maintainand operate. Since the unit uses a standard operated coin-actuatedmechanism and conventional 3,531,017 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 heatingelement, it can be constructed of simple-to-fabricate and maintaincomponents.

The above features are objects of this invention and further objectswill appear in the detailed description which follows and will otherwisebe apparent to those skilled in the art.

For the purpose of this illustration of this invention there is shown inthe accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof. It is to beunderstood that these drawings are for the purpose of example only andthat the invention is not limited thereto.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of the dispenser;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation taken from the right side of thedispenser, partly in section, to illustrate the can storage space;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in vertical section taken on the line 33 ofFIG. 1, all the cans except the bottom can being illustrated in brokenlines;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the upper portion ofthe dispenser with the front cover panel removed;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view in vertical section taken on line 5-5 of FIG.1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view in vertical section taken on line 66 of FIG.1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view in section taken on line 77 of FIG. 1 showingthe cans in solid lines;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view in section taken on line 88 of FIG. 1 showingthe right hand coin mechanism operated to advance the lowermost can inthe right hand can chute;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5 showing initiation of thecan discharge;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the completion of the candischarge into the collection chute;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section showing thecan removed through the delivery chute and the anti-theft mechanism;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the bottom portion of thecracker chute taken similarly to FIG. 5;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the bottom of the crackerchute taken similarly to FIG. 12;

FIG; 14 is a view in vertical section taken on line 1414 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary view taken similarly to FIG. 13 with thecracker chute in position similarly to FIG. 10 upon the initiation ofthe can discharge;

FIG. 16 shows the completion of the cracker discharge in a view takensimilarly to FIG. 15 after the can has been discharged;

'FIG. 17 is a bottom plan view of the cracker chute:

FIG. 18 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section taken similarly toFIG. 3 with the sold out device in blocking position for the coinoperated mechanism; and

FIG. 19 is a perspective view partly in section of a standard coinmechanism used with the can pusher element.

THE DISCLOSURE The vending machine is generally shown in FIGS.

'1, 2 and 3 as element 30. It is comprised of a sheet metal housing 32having an upper hot food compartment 34, covered by a locking frontpanel 35, a coin operated panel 36, a delivery chute 38, and lockercompartment 40 for an additional supply of cans.

The hot food compartment 34 is best shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, andhas a vertical sheet metal element 42, connected to the top of thehousing which forms a back wall for the stored cans of hot food.Connected to the vertical wall 42 is an angularly disposed heating plate44 to which is secured a conductive electrical heating element 46. Itwill be understood that the electrical conductive heating element 46 isof conventional construction and is provided with an electrical cord(not shown) which may be plugged into a convenient electricalreceptacle. Insulation pads 48 are provided on the front, back, top andside walls of the hot food compartment as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.This insulation may be of conventional glass fiber having an aluminumfoil backing which serves both to insulate the compartment and alsoreflect heat to the stored cans of food.

As best shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 7, the hot food compartment is providedwith four chutes 50, 52, 54 and 56 for storage of the canned food,reading from left to right, respectively, in FIGS. 4 and 7. The chutesare formed with the vertical wall or plate element 42 to which areconnected vertical side wall elements 58, 60, 62, 64 and 66,respectively, to define the chutes through 56 as previously described.Shelf elements 68 running laterally and slanting downwardly into thechutes are connected between the end plates 58 and 66. Each of theseshelves running from the top to the bottom, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and4, provide a storage space for an additional can for each one of thechutes. The upper ends of the shelves are provided with a resilientinturned flange 69 as shown in FIG. 3 which permits the loading of cansby popping them in past the flange. This flange which is simply anextension of the sheet metal shelf 68 blocks the escape of the cans fromthe upper end should the vending machine be tilted forwardly ormanhandled. It will be understood that the chutes may be expanded toprovide greater numbers than the four chutes as before disclosed andthat the shelves likewise may be of additional width to provide spacefor more than one can to each chute. Likewise, the height of the chutesmay be increased to provide additional storage space.

Underlying the chutes and forming a base for them is a horizontallyextending C-shaped channel member 70. This forms a floor upon which thebottommost can 72, as shown in FIG. 3, rests. A retaining spring 74 isconnected to the vertical wall 42 and is biased against the bottommostcan to maintain it in place on base until moved by the coin mechanism aswill be described hereinbelow.

The cracker discharge structure is best shown in FIGS. 4, 6, 7 and 12through 17. It is comprised of a vertical cracker-containing chute whichis hinged by means of hinge 82 to the top of the vertical plate 42 andbiased by spring 83 to the position as shown in FIG. 5. The chute has afront opening extending from the top to the bottom defined by thenumeral 84, as shown in FIG. 4, with a plate element 86 bridging theopening at the bottom. Underlying the chute are a pair of inwardlyextending flange elements 88 which are adapted to hold a bottommostpackage of crackers 90 when the dispensing operation is effected. AnL-shaped strip-like flange element 92 having a flange 94 is connected atthe front of the base 70 as best shown in FIG. 12. The element 92 isadapted to push against the bottommost package of crackers in thedispensing operation. The chute is further provided with a horizontallyextending contact bar 96 as best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The bar extendsin registry to the rear of the bottommost cans in their delivery pathfrom the storage chutes. When a can is dispensed, the contact bar iscontacted, causing swinging movement of the cracker chute for ultimatedispensing of a package of crackers as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12 through16.

The coin operated panel 36 and its associated structure is best shown inFIGS. 1, 8, 9 and 19. The panel is provided with four coin operatedmechanisms, of con ventional construction, 100, 102, 104 and 106,extending from the left to the right of the machine. Above each of thecoin mechanisms are pictorial representations or panels illustrating thetype of food in chutes 50 through 56. The illustrated panels aredesignated by reference numerals 108, 110, 112 and 114. The coinoperated mechanism is shown in FIG. 19 and is of standard constructionhaving the usual handle 116 provided with a coin receiving slot 118. Thehandle is connected to the coin mechanism housing 120 and when a coin isreceived, the handle which extends through the housing moves a pusherplate 121 connected to the inner end of the handle. The pusher plate 121has a vertical contacting surface 122 which is adapted to contact andmove the can from the lowermost position of the chute in the dispensingoperation. A coin box 123 is provided.

The delivery chute 38 for receiving the dispensed can is best shown inFIGS. 3 and 11. It is comprised of an open-topped box-like chute 124which is hinged by hinge mechanism 126 to the front of the housing. Ahandle provides for ready operation by the user. A central opentoppedcompartment is provided for napkins, spoons, or the like, for theconvenience of the user. The chute 124 has a rearwardly extending flangeelement 127 for operation of the anti-theft mechanism.

The anti-theft structure is likewise best shown in FIGS. 3 and 11. It iscomprised of a hinged plate-like element 128 hinged by hinge 129 to rearof the housing. It is operated by the operation of the delivery chutewhen the user withdraws a can to close the hot food compartment fromaccess.

The sold out mechanism is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 18. It is comprisedof angled plate 132 hinged by hinge 134 to the rear of the C-shaped base70. The plate has an arm 136 which underlies the can in each chute andon oppositely extending arm 138 which is biased by spring 140 to theposition shown in FIG. 18. The arm 136, when the last can has beendispensed, moves upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 18 and blocksany rearward movement of the coin actuated mechanism to prevent thereception of the coin so it may be returned to the user.

OPERATION The dispenser is very simply loaded by unlocking the frontpanel 35 of the hot food compartment 34 and loading the proper cans intothe four delivery chutes 50, 52, 54 and 56. The canned foods may be ofany variety such as canned pork and beans, soups, chili, stew, etc.Likewise crackers are simply loaded into the cracker chute 80. Thedelivery chute is filled with napkins, spoons, etc., in compartment 130.The machine is then ready for use by plugging an electrical cord fromthe heating element 46 into an electrical outlet.

The user makes a choice of which of the foods shown in the illustratedpanels 108 through 114 is desired. Assuming he desires a can of soupthat may be stored in chute 56, shown in illustrated panel 114, the userplaces the necessary coin in the coin actuated mechanism 106. Afterplacing of the coin in slot 118, shown in FIG. 8, the handle 116 ismoved inwardly and after reception by the mechanism, the handle isfurther cleared and the movement is effected to the positions shown inFIG. 8 such that the pusher plate, through its contacting surface 122,contacts the lower most can 72. Upon continued movement of the handle116, the pusher bar is moved to the position shown in FIG. 9 and the canis moved against the contact bar 96 connected to the cracker chute.Finally, at the end of the operation, the can is moved out of engagementwith the biasing spring 74 and the can drops as shown in FIG. 10 on theanti-theft hinge plate 128. The plate also serves as a baflle to directthe can into the delivery chute 124, all as shown in FIG. 10 in dottedlines.

As the can moves the contact bar 96 of the cracker delivery chute, asshown in FIG. 9, the cracker chute is caused to swing. This sequentialmovement is best shown in FIG. 12, 13, 14 and 15. The supported stacksof cracker packages, as the chute moves pivotally, are caused to dropdown from the position shown in FIG. 13 where they rest upon the plate92 to the bottom of the chute where they rest upon the inturned flange-s88. Then in the return movement from the position shown in FIG. 15through that shown in FIG. 16, when the can has been dispensed in thestage movement shown in FIG. 10, the pusher element 94 will engage thebottommost pack of crackers 90 and, as shown in FIG. 16, will push itout the rear and drop it in the delivery chute. The packs of crackersthen again rest upon the plate element 92, ready for the next dispensingoperation.

Afiter the above dispensing operations of the can and the crackers havebeen completed, the operator opens the delivery chute 38 much as in thefashion of a mail box delivery chute. He then withdraws a can and thepack of crackers and spoon and proceeds to open the can on a can opener(not shown), which is located on the dispensing unit in conventionalfashion. As the delivery chute is opened, the flange 127 moves theanti-theft plate 129 to a blocking position to the interior of the hotfood compartment, as shown in FIG. 11, to prevent tampering.

After the dispensing operation above described, the unit is then ready'for additional dispensing operations in a like manner.

In the operation of the dispensing unit it will then be noted that theconductive electrical heating element 46 provides heat to the bottom ofthe hot food compartment 34. It is positioned on the angled plate-likeelement 44 and directs heat through the metal fabrication of this plateand the vertical wall plate 42 to the stored cans. Reflective heat isprovided by the aluminum foil insulation. The greatest amount of heat isaccordingly provided at the bottom of the unit where the cans aredispensed. The temperature gradient is a few degrees, for example, sixdegrees, from the 150 at the bottom of the unit to a lesser temperatureat the top of the unit and in this manner effective conservation of heatis provided.

Various changes and modifications may be made within this invention aswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

W hat is claimed is:

1. A dispensing machine for canned foods, said machine comprising ahousing, a vertically extending chute receiving a vertical stack ofcans, a base spaced underneath the said can chute supporting the stackof cans, biasing means closing a can receiving opening between the canchute and said base and means for dispensing the can comprising a coinoperated actuating mechanism, said mechanism comprising a coin actuated,manually operable handle connected to a can pushing member, said memberbeing movable to engage a lowermost can and move it past said biasingmeans through the can receiving opening and a cracker dispensing chuteprovided for dispensing packs of crackers stacked in said crackerdispensing chute, said cracker dispensing chute being provided withmeans for dispensing an individual pack of crackers, said means beingoperable by engagement of the can being dispensed with an operatingmember, and said cracker dispensing chute being pivotably supported atan upper portion for swinging movement and said operating membercomprising a rigid bar member connected at one end to said crackerdispensing chute and extending past the delivery path of the dispensedcan.

2. The dispensing machine of claim 1 in which said cracker dispensingchute overlies a rigid strip-like member extending through the bottomportion of said cracker dispensing chute in cracker supporting relationand spaced above the bottom of said cracker dispensing chute, saidcracker dispensing chute upon operation by the dispensing of a can beingmovable out of contact with said stripl-ike member to drop the packs ofcrackers upon the bottom of said cracker dispensing chute, saidstrip-like member being further provided with a cracker pack contactingmember engageable with the bottom pack of crackers to push it out of anopening in the bottom of said cracker dispensing chute upon the returnof said cracker dispensing chute to an overlying position with respectto said member.

3. A dispensing machine for canned foods, said machine comprising ahousing, a vertically extending chute receiving a vertical stack ofcans, a base spaced under-- neath the said chute supporting the stack ofcans, biasing means closing a can receiving opening between the chuteand said base and means for dispensing the can comprising a coinoperated actuating mechanism, said mechanism com rising a coin actuated,manually operable handle connected to a can pushing member, said memberbeing operable to move a lowermost can, past said biasing means throughthe can receiving opening, the vertical chute having one side openinginto each of a plurality of downwardly angled can receiving shelves,said shelves being vertically spaced to feed cans to said chute and inwhich the chute and shelves are heat conductive and arethermal-conductively connected by a metallic connection to an electricalheat conducting element to heat the cans stored in said chute andshelves.

4. A dispensing machine for canned foods, said machine comprising ahousing, a vertically extending chute re ceiving a vertical stack ofcans, a base spaced underneith the said chute supporting the stack ofcans, biasing means closing a can receiving opening between the chuteand said base and means for dispensing the can comprising a coinoperated actuating mechanism, said mechanism comprising a coin actuated,manually operable handle connected to a can pushing member, said memberbeing operable to move a lowermost can, past said biasing means throughthe can receiving opening, the vertical chute having one side openinginto each of a plurality of downwardly angled can receiving shelves,said shelves being vertically spaced to feed cans to said chute each ofsaid shelves having an open lower end opening into the chute and an openupper end for receiving cans in a loading operation, said upper shelfends being provided with a resilient inturned flange which passes thecans in the loading operation but blocks their escape from said upperend.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,363,724 11/1944 Ford.

2,918,196 12/1959 Bron 22l124 3,298,566 l/l967 Wartell 221-267 X3,185,280 5/1965 Nathan l942 1,415,337 5/1922 Grover 22ll9 2,042,7106/1936 Fry 22l93 2,378,868 6/1945 Richmond et al. 221-247 X STANLEYTOLLBERG, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 22 119

